Pernod Ricard launches limited-edition Chivas bottle in Asia

Liquor supplier Pernod Ricard Travel Retail has launched a 1.5l limited-edition Chivas Regal bottle in partnership with French fashion designer Christian Lacroix, available exclusively with DFS Group at Singapore Changi airport. Only 15,000 bottles of the Chivas 12 Magnum by Lacroix, featuring a unique design applied with laser decoration technology, are available worldwide.

The limited-edition magnum will be rolled out in Bangkok with King Power International Group (Thailand), Australia and New Zealand in November; in December to Hong Kong with Sky Connection and Vietnam; in January 2010 to South Korea with Lotte Duty Free and Korean Air; and in April 2010 to Malaysia.

Chivas Brothers regional director global travel-retail Robin Johnston told DFNIonline: “Chivas is probably the world’s first luxury whisky, founded in 1909 and a symbol of having arrived, generosity and wealth. It has always done well in periods of economic upturn in different countries, be it the US in the 1950s or China in the past five years. Lacroix also represents craft and heritage, so we share some of the same values. We have worked with other designers too, such as Alexander McQueen last year; it adds something interesting to Chivas. In the liquor sector in travel-retail we always need to stimulate something different from what you would see in the domestic market, a bit of theatre.”

He added: “We are selling [the new Lacroix limited edition] at roughly 80% above the regular Chivas price, at $90–100 in travel-retail. After the Asian roll-out we hope to send it to retailers in the Middle East and Europe. Christian has managed to capture Chivas’ essence of luxury through his design. We hope our customers are as thrilled with this limited edition as we are.”